Alfa Romeo Nixes Plans for a Giulia Wagon
Financially-strained brand just can’t justify a low-volume wagon in the U.S. market—especially
Alfa Romeo has been burning through money ever since it was brought back to America by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. It's all part of FCA's plan for the brand...but that doesn't mean the carmaker has unlimited cash to spend. Alfa Romeo originally intended to make a performance wagon version of the Giulia, but manufacturing chief Alfredo Altavilla has stated the company has since nixed those plans and will direct its efforts to the Stelvio SUV instead.
We decided not to do a Giulia Sportwagon," Altavilla told Britain's CAR. "Do we really need it if the Stelvio SUV...drives that well? Maybe not. With our fine-tuning, the Stelvio can capture all the people who would otherwise have been interested in the [Sportwagon]."
Obviously, killing off the Giulia Sportwagon before it even entered production isn't music to the ears of car enthusiasts, whose love for performance wagons is well-known. But considering the Stelvio is based off the same platform as the Giulia, and packs many of the same components...we at The Drive, at least, hope the new SUV will be plenty of fun to drive all by itself. And if Alfa winds up selling cars in massive numbers...who knows what might happen?
